Distinguished Speaker Series for the 2015-16 school year begins this week

AUG. 31 -- As Trine University’s Distinguished Speaker Series for the 2015-16 school year approaches, everyone is reminded of these free public events. The university will welcome two special guests to campus in the upcoming weeks as part of this speaker series.

This week, the Distinguished Speaker Series features a former professional athlete and member of an Olympic gold medal-winning team.

Tino Martinez, a former Major League Baseball player, will host a question-and-answer session focused on his experience as a professional athlete at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2.

Martinez played for the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Devil Rays from 1990 through 2005. In 1988, he helped lead the USA to a 5-3 win in the Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea by belting two homers and driving in four runs.

The Distinguished Speaker Series continues next week with military intelligence expert Richard J. Wilhelm.

Wilhelm’s credentials and experience include testifying before Congress, acting as a member of two Defense Science boards and a member of the Markle Task Force on National Security in the Information Age and serving on the advisory board for the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

Both Distinguished Speaker events will take place at the Ryan Concert Hall, T. Furth Center for Performing Arts.

Everyone is invited to attend these free events. Seating, with plentiful options for those with disabilities, is on a first-come basis.